About
Dr. Matthew Hansen is a remote sensing scientist with a research specialization in large area land cover and land use change mapping. His research is focused on developing improved algorithms, data inputs and thematic outputs that enable the mapping of land cover change at regional, continental and global scales. His team’s research to operations products benchmark rates of global change, for example deforestation trends, expansion of crop and urban land uses, near-real time land disturbance, among other dynamics. The resulting maps are used by other scientists as inputs to biodiversity/habitat, carbon, climate and hydrological modeling studies, and by non-scientists in managing lands, for example local communities interdicting illegal encroachments. He has been a member of NASA’s MODIS Land Science Team, the NASA/USGS Landsat Science Team, and is a recipient of the Department of Interior’s William T. Pecora Award which recognizes his “contributions to remote sensing, his range of scientific insights and impacts, global products and capacity development, and mentorship.
